Untitled Essay Research Paper Regulation of guns

Untitled Essay, Research Paper

Regulation of guns is a necessary action that needs to be taken in order

to save lives. A good definition of gun control is needed to understand the

sides and issues. Gun control is an effort to stop the rise in violent crime

by strengthening laws on the ownership of firearms. Persons in the group

against gun control believe that gun control is wrong, and that it is a violation

of constitutional rights.

Those in favor of gun control believe that gun control is good, that the

Second Amendment does not apply to regular citizens, and that guns should

be taken out of the hands of criminals. There are several major anti-gun

control groups. These groups include the National Rifle Association (NRA),

and the Gun Owners of America (GOA) . The NRA is a national group dedicated

to the upholding of the Second amendment of the Constitution (See Appendix).

In their magazines, American Hunter and American Rifleman, they say “The

NRA, . . . believes that every law-abiding citizen is entitled to the ownership

and legal use of firearms, . . . ” The NRA does many things to help display

their beliefs and persuade others to their beliefs. This association also

has a strong pull on legislation, because it has many lobbyists and supporters

in government. This group has many members in Congress, and former presidents

George Bush and Ronald Reagan are NRA members. The NRA lobbies for several

types of legislation. For example, the NRA is currently tryingto repeal the

ban on assault weapons. A lot of money is spent each year on legislation

(See Appendix for figures).

The Gun Owners of America is another group that is against gun control. The

GOA preserves and defends the rights of gun owners through legislation. They

publish books, articles, and videos on gun issues and how those issues affect

people. They also conduct seminars for the press and Congress about issues

on the Second Amendment, and gun issues. The GOA opposes bans on semiautomatic

weapons, armor piercing ammunition, and handguns.

There are also many groups that are pro gun control in the United States.

The major group for gun control is Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI), which is

headed by Sarah Brady. Mrs. Brady is the wife of James Brady, who was shot

during an attempt on president Reagan’s life in 1981. Another major group

is the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), which was formerly known as

the National Coalition to Ban Handguns. The CSGV believes that handguns should

be outlawed completely, with a few exceptions, such as the military, police

and sportsmen who keep their guns locked up together in a gun club.

Some accomplishments of HCI are laws prohibiting the interstate sale of handguns,

and laws prohibiting the sale of “assault weapons.” The main goal of this

organization was to pass the Brady Bill. Some of its other goals are to ban

multiple sales of handguns, to create gun-free zones around all of the schools,

and to establish control over who can manufacture and sell weapons. HCI is

working very hard to achieve these goals.

The CSGV is dedicated to the total removal of guns from the hands of citizens,

with a few exceptions. The CSGV is trying very hard to put gun banning

legislation in the law. They believe that if there are fewer guns out on

the streets, then there will be fewer gun crimes committed.

The anti-gun control people believe in several major ideas. They believe

that the second amendment rights apply only to militia, which they define

as a group such as the National Guard and not regular citizens. These people

also believe that by controlling numbers of guns on the streets gun violence

can be reduced. The national government doing working with the issue of gun

control. There have been several bills passed in the last ten years that

have to do with gun control. First, there was the Gun Control Act of 1986,

which banned all fully-automatic weapons from the hands of citizens. Then

in 1988 there was the Brady Bill, which made a seven-day waiting period mandatory

for all handgun purposes, this law passed the House of Representatives in

1991, but part of it was ruled unconstitutional in 1994. Most recently there

was the ban on assault weapons, which bans the sale and manufacture of what

the government considers assault weapons. Both the NRA and HCI have fought

very hard against one another to pass some bills, and to keep some bills

from becoming law.